


your ghost lingers (you said you'd never leave)

by VibrantVenus



Series: Death Note (Au's) [9]
Category: Death Note & Related Fandoms, Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet, Bittersweet Ending, Blood, F/M, Ghosts, Heavy Angst, M/M, Minor Amane Misa/Yagami Light, Minor L/Yagami Light, One-Sided Amane Misa/Yagami Light, POV Yagami Light, Rage, Trans Character, Trans Male Character, Trans Yagami Light, glass, light is just.......angry, lots of shattered plates, vent fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-05 10:26:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16808830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VibrantVenus/pseuds/VibrantVenus
Summary: Light breathes through his nose, a short angry puff of air. He sees L out of the corner of his eye, chain hanging from his wrist."So you've decided to haunt me."





	your ghost lingers (you said you'd never leave)

**Author's Note:**

> hi im juat angry and bitter sorry for this.

He's alone in the apartment when the plate shatters. For a minute he doesn't react, doesn't even care. But eventually he gets up, opens the door and steps out. He flinches when the shards of glass dig into his feet. There's blood on the floor, shards of white porcelain stained with his blood. He looks up, and there he is.

Light breathes through his nose, a short angry puff of air. He sees L out of the corner of his eye, chain hanging from his wrist.

"So you've decided to haunt me."

The ghost, and god it makes something ugly burn in his stomach at the thought of it, stares at him with wide dark eyes.

"Perhaps," the echo of a memory replies, a smile spread across his face.

Light clenches his teeth, his nails dig into his palms. 

He slams the door.

(He's still digging glass out of his foot when Misa gets home.)

The ghost follows him. 

When he sits down to eat the illusion sits at the seat next to him, places his elbows on the table. He pointedly ignores Misa's prodding when she asks why he's frowning at the empty seat.

He swears up and down he can't see the other end of the chain glinting around his wrist. (He's a fucking liar, through and through)

When he gets dressed in the mornings for work, the apparition crouches on the counter while he buttons his shirts up. 

He doesn't talk much, not that Light tries all that hard to start a conversation.

(Still, that smug fucking grin is branded on the backs of his eyelids.)

The ghost-

The hallucination-

L sits next to him, peering over his shoulder while he fills out names in the notebook. 

He's alone again, Ryuk venturing off with Misa whose day-by-day life is generally more interesting to the shinigami.

He sees dark hair and darkdarkdark eyes out of his peripherals, and the pencil lead cracks when he pushes too hard.

The pencil is unceremoniously dropped with a huff, as Light swivels to look at L.

"Why?" 

L shrugs, a delicate shift of his shoulders.

"Because I can."

Light goes back to ignoring him.

He gets no escape from the ghost haunting his life in sleep either. He closes his eyes and-

"Tell me, Light, from the moment you were born, has there ever been a time where you've actually told the truth?"

It's a reasonable question, with an easy answer and yet...

He wishes he could dream about something pleasant. But a part of him acknowledges that, before L, he'd mostly been a blank slate of a human. A mirror reflecting whatever people wanted to see.

(Perfect son, top-student in Japan, Charming and brilliant and righteous.)

Dark eyes and soft hair clutched in his fingers. Quiet quiet night at 3 am, the only sounds being unsteady breathing and rustling fabric and the jingling chain.

Warm lips and darkdarkdark eyes-

He sits up with a gasp.

Misa is still passed out next to him, a halo of blonde hair on her pillow. L sits at the end of the bed, eyes glowing in the darkness.

Light stares up at him, and there's nothing but the sound of unsteady breathing and rustling fabric and a jingling chain.

He goes back to sleep.

Light is never truly alone again, a part of him, the one that had fallen somewhat desperately in love with L, doesn't really mind.

The rest of him though-

The rest of him is pissed.

He throws a plate at the wall, alone except for L. He picks up another one and this time the plate flies through L's body. He keeps throwing plates, something bloodthirsty in the back of his head crowing with delight at every shattered plate. L turns to stare where the plate went through him, idly lifting a hand to rest against the spot. 

_Good,_ Light thinks, _I hope it hurts you stupid asshole._

He locks himself in the bathroom, choking on laughter dissolving into tears.

L doesn't follow him.

(It's almost worth Misa's bitching about the plates)

For a while L disappears. Light grins, victory on the tip of his tongue.

More criminals fall to his pen, and something inside him grows colder. 

His body only knows the touch of winter, and he feels death creep steadily closer. 

He's running out of time.

He isn't sure if he's running to the end or trying to escape. 

Bullets tear through his chest and he's runningrunningrunning. 

When he collapses on the stairs he finds only darkness

He'd always been a husk of a human being. Molding his body int the right shape, keeping such a tight hold on his emotions.

He thinks he might have died with L, conjoined as they were. Thinks that all that's left was rot, and he can finally go home.

He closes his eyes and there's nothing but the sound of unsteady breathing and rustling fabric and a jingling chain.


End file.
